Depression Treatment | StrongMinds
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Depression Treatment

Depression Treatment

Scaling evidence-based mental health care across Africa.
Right Flourish

At-a-Glance

The Circle  is the Clinic.

At StrongMinds, we know that depression recovery
begins in a circle: people sitting together, speaking honestly, listening closely, and learning they are not alone. 

Group talk therapy is simple and ultra-low cost, focusing on emotional literacy, interpersonal communication, and problem-solving skills that foster personal agency and rebuild human connection. 

An Evidence-Based Approach

Our group talk therapy models are rooted in Group Interpersonal Therapy, an evidence-based approach that is recommended by the World Health Organization as a first line depression interventions, particularly well-suited for low-resource settings.

In therapy groups, people find a safe space to open up with peers about their worries and struggles. Over 6 sessions, lay counselors guide structured discussions to help participants identify their underlying triggers of depression and examine how their interpersonal relationships and depression symptoms are linked. Group members work together to strategize solutions to their problems, learn coping mechanisms, practice interpersonal skills, and identify support structures that they can continue to lean on after therapy has ended.

Since depression is episodic and recurrent throughout most people’s lives, these newly acquired skills have both immediate and long-term preventive impacts for the individual.

This approach is simple enough to be led by lay facilitators, rigorous enough to meet public-sector standards, and powerful enough to help people recover from depression and rebuild their sense of possibility.

A closer look at results from this evidence-based approach.
Our impact

Community-Based, Culturally Adapted
Left Flourish

From Circle to System

StrongMinds works with governments across Africa to embed group talk therapy into existing public infrastructure, reaching people where they already are – in communities, schools, health systems, and correctional facilities.

We continuously develop and refine the group therapy model to maximize impact and simplify government absorption, supported by rigorous research. 

And we advocate for the financing and policy commitments needed to sustain government-embedded mental health care at scale. 

We envision a future where mental healthcare is free and abundantly available to anyone in need.

 

how we work with Governments

When a woman recovers from depression

She changes the world around her

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Where We Work
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